Falling in Trouble
by C0HR
Summary: Rina, a regular Asgardian girl who cleans in the palace, decides to help Loki escape from prison. She is convinced that he is a terrible person and just when she thinks things can't get worse, something unexpected happens. Is Loki really who she thinks he is? And why can't she remember her past?
1. Chapter 1

I woke up to the sound of mother coughing. She is infected with the same disease that took my older brother. I still can't get over his death. I washed up and went to my mother's room.

"Good Morning, mother. I'll get you some water," I said as I opened her window.

"Go to work Rina; she'll be mad." said my mother weakly. I smiled at her and kissed her

forehead before leaving to the Common Hospital. It was one of the larger hospitals that the wealthier Asgardians used. I work as a nurse there. Medical related work is in my blood. My brother was a leading doctor here, and before he left, my father researched for cures here.

I opened the large silver door to see Lady Faey looking at me with her tiny black eyes

"RINA!" she shouted at me. "You're late again! This is the last drop! Almost every time you are late I pity your mother and excuse you. Not this time! You're fired!"

"Fired? You _know_ my mother is ill and I have to take care of her. And I am the best nurse you have! You can _not _fire me," I shouted back at her. I knew this was the wrong thing to say. Faey hated to be proven wrong.

"Oh really?"she replied. I swallowed

. "I _will_ fire you!" Her face turned red as she screamed at me. People started to look at us. I couldn't bear this any longer so I stormed out and sat on a bench in the currently abandoned park; it was the nearest thing to the hospital. I came here often ever since my brother's death. How in the world will I get money for my mother's medicine? I sighed. Crying won't get me anywhere. I stood up, brushed off some invisible dirt from my tan dress, and headed toward the village. I needed a new job.

"Oh where should I go!" I muttered to myself. The bakery? Sure I cooked for mother and myself at home, but I was no expert. I couldn't tailor or even sew the simplest stitch. On the verge of tears, I haven't noticed that I walked all the way to the palace until a guard placed a hand on my shoulder.

"What business in the castle?" he asked kindly.

"Um…." I muttered. His brown eyes looked down on me as he kept his smile. Suddenly a thought came to me.

"The castle has a hospital in there, right?" I asked him.

"Of course. A private hospital for King Odin's family, a research lab, an emergency wing…" he replied.

"I would like to get a job. Preferably in the private hospital section." I said. They must have room for one more healer. Since I had next to no experience with emergency patients or researching viruses, the best choice for me was the private hospital.

"Ah," he said, " For that you must see the queen herself. Jeor, watch for me. I need to take this maiden to Lady Frigga." said the guard. The other guard,Jeor, didn't seem happy to cover for his friend but obeyed.

****

I've never been inside the palace but I've heard descriptions of it. The real thing was much more grand than any description. It had golden walls, and a marble floor, and beautiful, huge columns. In the center was a large, golden throne. Odin sat in it and the queen was talking to him. 

_No. not just talking. Persuading, _I thought. I knew exactly what she was persuading him about. Loki.

Everyone said he was odd and dangerous. I didn't think the way everyone judged him just from some gossip was fair. It was as if the whole village was against him. And in a way they were.

"You always see the good in everything," my friend Vara told me a long time ago. It was my weakness.

I don't know why he was in jail. Actually, I'm not supposed to know he is in jail at all. But in Asgard, gossip spreads like wildfire.

The guard cleared his throat and knelt. I was too busy admiring the palace to remember to kneel until the guard pulled my skirt. Getting the message, I dropped like a stone in water.

"Lady Frigga. This maiden wishes to work in the palace's private hospital," he said as he stood up, flashed me another signature smile, and headed towards the exit.

"What is your name, maiden?" asked the queen. "Rinalis" I replied.

"And shortened?"

"Rina." The queen smiled at me and I smiled back.

"Well?" she asked impatiently. It seemed that she had things much more important than this.

"Oh. Right. Um. I wish to work in the palace. Medical related work is what I am best at so I thought the private hospital would be the best place for me," I finally said. But I knew instantly I said something wrong. I was never trained to talk to or talk like royalty, and until seconds ago I didn't think I would be talking to one at all.

"Best place for...Odin look at the way she speaks! No manners at all! Why, the best place for you is cleaning the cells." Well, at least I could 's something.

"Oh Frigga give her a break!" Odin told Frigga.

"Your highness, forgive me, I have no experience with royalty… but if there there is no other way, I accept to clean the palace." I replied. She scoffed. Odin hid a smile. Apparently he's had too much wine. There she is lecturing me about manners when her own husband is a bit drunk. Anger boiled in me, but as I realized that she purposely made him drunk, it faded away. Poor Frigga. She was getting the worst of this. She made the ruler of Asgard drunk in order to try and free her son. If Odin found out, things could turn out pretty bad for her. Curiosity like never before hit me. Loki must have done something terrible to make his own father put him in jail.

"You won't clean the _palace, _just the cells. Maybe you could clean elsewhere if you do a good job with the prisoners." said the queen.

Cells. Prisoners. Well, they wouldn't touch me. Right? But I needed money for mother. There was no other place for me to go.

"I accept your offer, your majesty." I finally replied.

For some reason the queen looked surprised. "Honestly, I did not think you would accept to work in the dark all day long in a room filled with criminals. You must be desperate." she said, looking amused. I nodded. I needed the money.


	2. Chapter 2

Another servant gave me a mop, broom, and a LOT of cleaning related liquids that I've never seen in my life. I had my own personal, tiny, stuffy room for all the supplies I was given. Lucky me.

Why was I nervous? I don't know. Maybe because all of these people (who I will be seeing everyday) are all crazy killers who wouldn't think twice to kill me if they got the chance!

After I put all the things I thought I would need on a small silver cart and tied the grey apron around my back, I headed towards the cells. They were…. eerie and breathtaking at the same time. I gasped. They were transparent and HUGE! Most were bigger than my and my mother's rooms combined. The sides were golden and all cells had at least a white table and four chairs. The beds were simple but _not_ something you would expect for a prison even if it was the palace's. All the cells had from two to four occupants.

I started to clean. Nobody has cleaned in here for centuries! There was dust upon dust upon dust. Rats roamed freely, scared of no one. The walls were so greasy that they shined. I sighed a long and tiresome sigh. This will be a _long_ day. I should hurry if I want to get to mother.

I decided to start with the floors so I spilled soapy water and started to scrub. The murderers, er… _prisoners, _all noticed me.

_Obviously. The cells are transparent! _I thought. Why was I so surprised? Some just glanced, some stared, others smiled as if I was the most interesting thing they've seen in decades. I probably was but they didn't need to make it obvious. If they haven't noticed, the cells are clear through both sides. I noticed a few actually pointed fingers! Still, I pretended not to notice.

I tried to calm myself so I focused on the rhythm of the scrubbing: Up, down, up, down….

Finally I came to the very end of the prison. The last cell was larger than the others and had only one person in it. I froze when I saw him. Black hair slicked back, green vest with gold on the sides, and green eyes fixed on the book he was reading. Unlike the others, he didn't even look at me while I was staring. Quickly, I started cleaning the floors again. After a few minutes of scrubbing, I finally saw him look at me. He just stared, emotionless. Just like before, I pretended not to notice him but he just stared on and on and on. When I was finished with the floors, I stood up and glared at the prince of Asgard. He stared back. I narrowed my eyes giving him a 'what-the-hell-are-you-looking-at' look. His expression didn't change so I picked up my supplies and went to the beginning of the prison.

* * *

After transforming the prison into a spotless room, I went out to see the queen or someone that could take me to her. As I climbed the stairs, I bumped into something. I looked up to see the queen herself!

"I'm sorry your majesty!" I blurted out and knelt while rubbing my forehead.

"It's all right, Rina. I see that I've come at the perfect time." she said as she walked around. "You did well.I haven't seen the prison so clean….Anyways, here are the keys to the cells -"

"Wait _what_?! I have to clean _inside_ the cells?" I gasped. I definitely did not expect this!

"Well what did you think? Oh and Rina, dear, don't even think about letting anyone out. You'll be dead before you get the chance to step out," said the queen casually.

I nodded before I said anything sarcastic or rude. I looked at the triangular prisms she gave me. This shouldn't be hard. I just needed to clean without getting killed. Easy.

One by one I cleaned the cells. They couldn't keep their eyes off of me but knew better not to move. I was scared out of my mind and dropped the rags so much when I wiped the tables.

However, everyone seemed enlightened that I have cleaned. I guess even criminals get tired of dirt after a while.

Finally I came to the last room. _His_ room. I got so nervous around him. Why? And what did he do to be here in the first place? I almost fell as I climbed the stairs. Inserting the triangular key into the side of the cell, I noticed him looking at me with the same bored expression. He was still reading a book. His cell was more furnished than the others and that was saying something.

I sprayed some of the blue liquid onto the table. He returned to his book. Wiping the remainder of the table down, I noticed that his bored expression turned into longing and sadness. I suddenly felt so bad for him. I realized why Frigga gave me the keys. At first I wondered why she would hand them over to me without having any guards surveillance me, but now I knew.

He had a bowl of fruit on his table so I took the chance and pretended to wipe the bowl.

When I finished, I took the mop, rags, and sprays and headed towards where the guards have lunch. Only then did I realize there were no guards around.

* * *

** Loki Pov**

The new maid seemed strange to me. And clumsy. She nearly fell on the stairs. Yet there was something else about her that I couldn't quite place. It felt as if I knew her. My stomach grumbled so I strode to the fruit bowl on the table. As I picked a peach, my fingers felt something hard and cool. I picked up the key. Only the maid could have left it there. For me.

This cell was designed so that I could only use my magic _inside_, but I am much stronger than it. I knew it would take all my wits to do it yet still I had to try. After a few minutes of concentration, the key appeared outside of the cell. A sly smile appeared on my face. _Freedom._


	3. Chapter 3

I finished wiping down the table. I should be satisfied but I was scared.

I hope he doesn't find the key before I leave. I'm so stupid! Why did I do it? Just because I felt sad for him? No. It was something else but I don't know how to describe it. It was as if I **had** to help him….

_Boom!_

I had no idea what happened but there was a sudden pain in my back and a loud crash.

I just lay on my back for a while. '_Ow'_ is all I could think of.

Finally I dared to open my eyes. _Smoke_. So much smoke and a fire in the corner. The table I was wiping was tilted to it's side and the chairs were on fire in all the corners of the room.

As my vision cleared, I saw _him. _Green eyes. Beautiful green eyes looking at me. Suddenly, he grabbed me by my hair and then by my waist causing me even more pain than I already was in as he pulled me up.

"Ow! Ow! Ow!" I screamed.

"Shut up!" he replied with anger. He had a scepter. It was long and gold with a glowing blue light just below the sharp, terrifying point.

We walked to the floor to ceiling window. He shot it with his magical scepter and I winced when the glass cracked and fell out. Then he just jumped out, pulling me with him!

I screamed at the top of my lungs. Underneath us was water. It was cold when we crashed into it.

No, cold is not a proper description. It wasn't really cold. Just painful. I think that more pain would cause me to faint. I glanced at the crazy prince. He didn't look troubled whereas I was on the verge of tears and covered in blood.

Everything was happening so fast that I couldn't process anything that was happening.

Here's what I gathered so far: Pain, fire, jump, pain, water, pain.

Ok, a little more detailed: I was wiping down a table when the crazy prince (who I just saved from life in prison) shot me with what I think was a _fireball_ from behind. Then he added on to the pain by pulling me by my hair and squeezing my back where he shot me. Then we jumped from a window into water from a very high place sending pain up my back. Nothing much. Just everyday events, right?

I looked at him again preparing to scream so that he would let go of my back but he just opened his mouth to get some air and dove underwater!

I, however, was definitely _not _prepared so as soon as he pulled me underwater I needed air. I was panicking. So this is how I die. Drowned by a psycho after helping him escape! I closed my eyes, thinking I would black out at any second. But then we surfaced. I still didn't seem to notice that so I kept my eyes closed, hanging on to the prince.

Then I felt his grip loosen. The pain in my back eased and I did something between a sigh and a gasp for air.

When I opened my eyes, I saw that we were in a cave. Underwater. The first thing I realized was that I would have no place to hide.

"Get out idiot!" the prince commanded but I was already halfway on dry land. I lay on my stomach, panting.

"W-what a-are you-"

"Why did you leave the key in there?!" he picked me up by my throat this time.

Gasping for air I tried to pull his hands apart. He dropped me and I started crying.

"Nevermind that. It does not matter. But I can't leave you as a witness." he smiled. I was so disgusted by that smile. What was so funny? My mother would have-

"My mother!" I shouted in realization. "Take me to her! Please! She needs my help. Please!"

"Why would I do that? You would just go tell Odin and I will be hunted down…."

"At least take her with us!" I desperately shouted.

He sighed. "Too much hassle."

"But she's sick!" I countered.

"And?" he replied. I recognized his look of boredom. He didn't think of others. Only about his own convenience. I started to feel sorry about freeing him.

"You should be thanking me! I freed you! If it wasn't for me, you would still be stuck there reading your book." I said.

"True," he said, "therefore I will reward you by sparing your life."

I scoffed. "And take me along on a journey of conquering the nine realms where I will most likely get killed? And when will you return me, huh? Why not just kill me off right now?!"

"You speak like a Midgardian." was his only reply.

I thought about what he said. My brother Anthony was Midgardian. That's why he died when he caught the disease whereas my mother is just being tormented by its side effects. My mother adopted him at a time of war on Midgard. Anthony's parents were killed then. My mother and father went to Midgard undercover to rescue children like these and help rebuild Midgardian 'cities' as they called them. My Asgardian speech was mixed with Midgardian so now I have a strange combination when I speak.

The prince then pointed his scepter at nothing in particular. Suddenly, a portal appeared.

"Wait! Where are we going?" I gasped.

He smiled. "To Midgard, of course."

"What? Why?" I screamed, sending a pain up my back.

"I hate Midgard. It is an ugly realm and the mortals are all buffoons. They would least suspect me to hide there." the psycho prince replied.

"And I have to come with you?"

"Like I stated before, I can not leave a witness."

I knew very little about Midgard. I only know that the mortals there call it Earth. What would mother do? She would be worried and that would worsen her condition. I won't be seeing her again. Ever. I am doomed to become this prince's servant for eternity.

I sighed as I stepped through the portal.

* * *

**Please review!**


	4. Chapter 4

Bright light shone in my face after I stepped through the portal. I blinked to adjust.

Psycho Prince was wrong. Midgard (well I guess I should get used to calling it Earth) was beautiful in its own way. We seemed to land somewhere urban. There were long and tall blocks all around and in the distance I could see water. I focused on the strange colorful blocks. There seemed to be people inside of them. There was writing on the blocks too. I read the writing on a dark green block. It was a 'coffee shop'. I wonder what's coffee. So the blocks were shops. People walked in and out of them with bags.

"What city are we in?" I asked him.

"City?" he asked puzzled.

"Midgard...Earth...is broken down in sections called cities," I explained.

In return he stopped a man with a cylindrical cup that had a stick poking out of the top.

"Dude! Nice cosplays! Are you some kind of anime guy or something?"said the man as he wrapped his mouth around the straw. The cup was a beverage container from what I've gathered.

The prince sighed. I was afraid that he would blast him with his scepter so I stepped in.

"Yes! _Cosplays," _ I said carefully pronouncing the last word, "anime. Of course! I just love it here in…. what was the name of the city again? I keep forgetting it!"

"Kauai…" said the man. "I think it's pretty easy to remember. Well bye! Love your costumes by the way."

"Well that was…an interesting experience!" I said breaking the silence. The prince grunted.

"I told you mortals are idiots," he said.

"I do not think they are all that bad. It's beautiful here! Don't you think so? We should explore a bit since we are here. How long will we stay here?" I asked. I was eager to explore Midgard but worry took over me when I remembered my mother.

"Loki?" I asked using his name for the first time out loud, "Can I ask you of one thing and one thing only. Since I aided in your escape."

He looked at me, urging me to go on.

"Since you are so skilled at magic...can you heal my mother?" I asked, frightened that he would just blast me again.

He rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Fine. I suppose you would just keep on pestering me if I do not. Give me your hand."

I obeyed even though it seemed strange.

"Now imagine her very detailed," he commanded. I did. I imagined her in bed since that's where I saw her most of the time. She has silky blonde hair but mine was brown. She had heartwarming caramel eyes when mine were just gray. She is so beautiful compared to me that people are surprised when they find out we're related. I imagined everything from her dimples to the way she walks. Suddenly, a cool feeling swept through me and paused in my head as another ripple of that cool energy went up. And another and another. I sighed. I felt so relieved after so long. I could stay right here, wherever I was, forever. As the energy went through me, I felt no pain in my back and the cuts on my arms healed before my eyes. Before long, he released my hand and the energy stopped.

"What was that?" I asked.

"Are you as dumb as the mortals here?" he screamed at me.

"I just asked a question! You don't have to yell! Since you're hiding here you might as well be quiet and shrink away!"

"Alright servant. You have a point. That was _magic_.I _healed_ your _motherthrough you_," he replied as if I was a five year old.

"What did you call me? Servant?! DO NOT ever..._ever_….call me that, ok?!" I wanted to tell him that I was the reason he wasn't sitting back in the cell but decided not to push it.

"I call you what I want! I am the prince of Asgard!" he argued.

"Not here! You're on MIdgard if you haven't noticed. Like I said, we don't want attention so I'll apologize first because I know you won't. I'm sorry Loki,"I waited for his apology.

"I accept your apology but will not apologize." he walked off signaling that the conversation is over. I followed him since that was my only option. He could be so impossible sometimes! Then, I saw him grab a mortal woman by her hand.

"Show me the currency you mortals use here!" he yelled at the poor woman. She took out something leather from her bag, trembling. She looked about my age. I buried my face in my hands and grunted before running to catch up to them.

"Loki!" I yelled. "Stop! Remember what I told you!" he let go of the lady. She had some sort of large pink dark glasses around her eyes.

I apologized at least a hundred times to her. She looked frightened but then angry. She hurried off into one of the dark green blocks while I scolded Loki.

"What was that?!"

"I needed to see their currency! How do you think we will get food and shelter here?"he replied.

"You can not yell at people and call them mortals, Loki!"

"Then how will I get what I want?" he asked. I laughed at him. Did he seriously just ask me that?

"Have you ever tried being nice?" I asked. He looked puzzled. I sighed. Will I really have to babysit him all the time? He walked to a pile of dirt and took three rocks before squeezing them.

I knit my eyebrows together. "What are you doing?"

"Just watch." So I did. When he unclenched his fist there were three papers instead of rocks.

"Mortal currency," he explained. Why would they use paper? It's not of any worth!

"There are some things I need to do so why don't you just go explore this...what did you call it? City?"he asked. I nodded. He gave me more money and told me that he will find me before dark.

This was going to be exciting! I hope that he really did help my mother. Where should I start? I decided to go into the green block that the lady Loki scared went into.

* * *

**Loki Pov**

The maid that helped me escape calms me in this time of frustration. Not only did she help me escape, but she also steps in at the perfect time before I lose my temper with these mortals. It seemed only right to heal her mother after she did so much for me. I first thought that she was a spy testing me but I realized I was wrong. I needed to get us a room to rest in somewhere so I followed her advice of being kind to the brainless mortals.

"Where is the best place to stay for the night?" I asked a man walking by.

"Um...probably the Hawaii Palace. I dunno I just heard that it's pretty cool there." replied the man. "It's that big castle looking hotel over there," he pointed at a red building. It was the tallest building within sight.

"Cool?" who would want to spend the night in a cold castle? Not that it's any problem to me.

Thank you," I spat after a while. I don't go around saying things like that often.

"Yeah no problem, man," Midgardians have a strange speech.I walked to the palace hotel.


	5. Chapter 5

The rich smell that hit my nose when I entered the block was indescribable. I have never smelled anything like this on Asgard! The place had people in a line waiting for something. At another line people received either paper or clear cups with some sort of beverage in them. There were also different and unusual paintings on the walls. I was looking at one and walking at the same time so I didn't realize I ran into a person until she said:

"Your boyfriend isn't around here to try and steal my money again, right?"

"Huh?" I realized the lady talking to me was the same one Loki shook down earlier.

"Because if he does I'm so calling the cops this time," she said.

"Oh right. Forgive me for that...he was not feeling well," I replied.

"Well okay... What's your name? I'm Leila. Very fitting for Hawaii right?" she laughed at her joke. I had absolutely no idea why this name was fitting for this place.

"I'm...Rina," I told her.

"Rina...pretty. So are you on vacation or a resident?"

"I just arrived here with….my boyfriend," I said using her term, whatever it meant.

"Oh! I'm visiting my grandma. I might as well live here 'cause I come every summer! Where are you staying?"

"I'm not sure yet. Loki is looking for a place to stay."

"That's a pretty unusual name! Well I'll leave you. You probably have more things to do.' said Leila.

"Actually!" I caught up to her, " I don't know where to go or what to do at all! Maybe if you have spare time you could show me around?"I asked.

"Yeah sure! I was alone anyways. I'd love to help because, honestly, I have _nothing_ to do! What do you wanna do first?"

"Well…" I started, looking down at my dress. It looked so fancy compared to the Midgardian clothes. "I need new clothes."

"Great! Let's go to the Kahuna Mall. They have this new store there," I agreed. This mortal was friendly and she would be a great guide for this Midgardian city.

* * *

The 'mall' as Leila called it, was a large building with many shops inside. We bought dresses (that were inappropriately short in Asgardian terms) along with shoes and other clothing called tees and shorts. Everything seemed so..._alien _and foreign but I pretended to know every single thing Leila was talking about even if I didn't understand most of it.

She was surprised when I told her I never tried any of the food they serve here at this..mall.

"Oh you have to try the cinnamon and sugar pretzels! Wait! No! We need to get ice cream! You've never had ice cream? What?! We need to get some! Oh do you like chinese food? You've never tried that either? OMG! I'm hungry for burgers, want some? You've never tried any of this? Where are you even _from_?" I was blanking out most of the things she said but the last question made me freeze in my tracks.

"Oh...um…Well it doesn't matter where I'm from," was the only thing I could come up with. I didn't want her to know I was from Asgard! Midgardians don't know much and don't believe in Asgard or the Nine Realms. To the mortals, the explanation is science and….what was that other word? Anthony loved it. _Astronomy_. There you go. Mortals don't believe in magic. Only in science and astronomy. If they could see Loki's magic they would understand. But they do not understand and therefore I did not want to Leila to think I was crazy. She could tell me all about Midgard while I was here. How long will I be here anyways? And if this is over, will Loki let me go? I still don't know why he did not kill me right there and then in the prison. Not that I'm unhappy about it just...someone with his power and mind wouldn't think twice to kill me. It would have been easy for him. He didn't hesitate to blast me (I think) but why did he hesitate to kill me? And besides, he could have just left me in the cave where it was too far down for me to be able to surface without magic. Why didn't he?

"Rina? Rina! You there? Earth to Rina!" Leila's loud voice brought me back from my train of thought.

"Oh sorry. I was thinking."

"About what?" asked the curious Leila.

"About….some things that happened before I came here," I replied. Leila was pushing a warm pretzel into my hand.

"Thanks," I said. These pretzels were my favorite Midgardian food. After iced cream that is.

We were sitting on the bench, talking. Well it was mostly Leila talking about how she saw the same dresses in two different shops. Suddenly, Loki was walking toward us. He was wearing Midgardian clothing. Black shirt and jeans.

"Um..I gotta go, Leila," I stopped her mid-sentence.

"Oh...ok I'll see you tomorrow" she said when she saw Loki. She was eyeing him with distaste. "How about I'll meet you at the coffee shop at 9?" she asked. I nodded. She smiled at me and left.

"Follow me," commanded Loki. I didn't have the energy to argue so I did. We went behind a tall plant and before I could blink, we were in front of a tall, red building.

_The Hawaii Palace._

"What is this place?" I asked Loki.

"This," he replied, "is where we will be staying."

I looked at it again. Something about it reminded me of Asgard. We went inside. The room had a golden ceiling with a beautiful chandelier hanging. There were also some sort of seats that looked so soft I just wanted to lay on them and forget about everything terrible going on right now. We walked past the seats and stood in front of a wall with a golden square in the middle. Loki pressed a button that was located next to the golden square. In a short period of time, the golden square turned out to be two sliding doors. They opened to reveal a small room with two people inside. They walked out of the room and carried on with their business. Loki stepped into the room and I quickly walked into it too. He pressed another button with the number 25 on it.

"What is this?" I asked, puzzled.

"It's called an elevator you stupid commoner!" he yelled.

"Loki, I just asked a question! You are not on Asgard! You're on Midgard! Don't yell at me just because you are in a bad mood! I'm tired of having to put up with a childish prince. May I remind you that you were in jail, and still would have been there if it was not for me?! You could have at least thanked me!" I yelled back. Usually I was not one to rub things in but _this, _whatever it was, was too much. Everything I said was true. He does act like I still owe him something. He acts like a child. Like everything revolves around him! I would have stormed off once the doors have opened, but I had nowhere to go. So I was tragically left to stare at the wall to my left, waiting for him to exit and show me where my room is.

He walked down a long hallway. I followed him a few steps back. He finally reached a door at the end of the hallway, entered it, and closed the door in my face.

"What? Where is my room?!" I yelled at the door.

"Figure it out yourself since you're so smart!" he yelled back. I resisted the terrible urge to scream. I tried to open the door that was next to his. It didn't move. I needed a key and Loki was the one that had it.

I sat next to Loki's door. There was no point in walking around outside in the dark so I just sat there in the corner and waited. And waited. And waited. After what I would estimate to be an hour or so, I fell asleep.

* * *

"Wake up!" someone yelled. And of course that someone was Loki. Any other _normal_ guy would carry me princess-like and put me in my bed without waking me up. But we're talking about Loki here. The prince who was imprisoned by his own father! The god of lies and mischief. No. Loki would never carry me into my bed. He would yell at me to wake up.

I rubbed my eyes and pretended he wasn't there. He tossed a card on the floor.

"I've decided you have suffered enough. Here is your key." he said before leaving back into his room. I sighed and rolled my eyes at the same time.

I stared at the key. It was a card, not a key. Was this some kind of joke? This is not a key. I picked it up to examine it.

It had a woman and man on the front and on the back a bunch of black lines in the corner and the number 996 on the top. I figured 996 was the number of the room. Loki's room had the number 995 above the door. The door I tried to open earlier had 996 on a gold plate on top of it. I wouldn't be able to tell Loki's door from mine apart if there were no numbers.

I had a hard time trying to open the door with my key. Finally, it turned out that you had to put the card inside of some box attached to the door. My room was gorgeous! It had marble walls and the same golden ceiling. The bed had a canopy, which was something I really wanted when I was younger! I switched into the thing Leila called a pajama and went straight to bed. I fell asleep once more, thinking about my mother.

* * *

**Sorry I haven't posted a new chapter in forever. I had my laptop taken away. Anyways some things to clear:**

**1)The Hawaii Palace isn't a real hotel. (I think)**

**2)The coffee shop in the beginning was my attempt at Starbucks. (I suck at descriptions)**

**3)The golden square in the middle of the wall was supposed to be an elevator. (Once again I suck at descriptions)**

**PLEASE REVIEW! Thanks!**


	6. Chapter 6

I woke up at least five times. Nightmares of my mother dying plagued me nonstop. One nightmare in particular scared me. My mother was still sick and lying in bed. I stood in front of her bed but was unable to move or speak. She was coughing violently and all I could do was watch. She called my name but I couldn't move. I tried to scream but no sound came out. She couldn't see me either. I was invisible. I just stood there listening to her coughing and calling me and Anthony but no one came. Suddenly, the door to her room opened and an eerie fog crept in. It filled the room and once it covered the floor entirely, it started to take shape of a man. But it wasn't an ordinary man. This 'man' was extremely tall. He had blue skin with some kind of patterns. When he opened his eyes, they were red. He was a Frost Giant.

I've never even seen a picture of a Frost Giant so I had no idea how I knew he was one. He walked towards my mother's bed and grabbed her by the neck! Where he touched her, her skin burned from the icy coldness. He picked her up, still by the throat, and tossed her at the wall as if she was nothing more but a ragdoll. I screamed and this time sound came out. I ran to her, finally being able to move. She was dead. I cried and screamed, completely forgetting the Frost Giant behind me. All I could think about was my mother, dead and limp.

The Frost Giant touched my shoulder but no burns came. Terrified, I didn't even move. Tears were still on my cheeks but it seemed as if they were frozen in terror also. I stood up. The Giant leaned down and kissed my forehead.

"My-" he started but I woke up before he could finish the sentence. I was a mess. It looks like I've been crying for a long time in my sleep. I stood up and went to the bathroom, turned on cold water and washed my face with it.

I wouldn't sleep anymore. I can't with all these nightmares. I opened the curtains to reveal a dark ocean on the horizon. I wanted to go outside but it would be pointless. I sat in one of the chairs and looked at the incredible view. I was so sleepy but didn't dare fall asleep.

What did that dream mean? Why a Frost Giant? Before I knew it, I was asleep.

The next morning, I put on a dark blue dress that Leila picked out for me at the mall. I was very tired and almost fell asleep waiting for Leila at the coffee shop. She finally arrived yelling, "Sorry I'm late! I had to run an errand for…my grandma. Wow, you are tired!"

"Yes, I know. I haven't had much rest last night. Some nightmares keeping me up."

"Oh, then since we're at the coffee shop I'll go get you an espresso!" she said in her usual enthusiastic Leila voice. She came back a few minutes later with a small cup in her hand. I took it and drank it.

"Ow!" I screamed. The drink was hot. Really hot. I burned my tongue with it.

"Don't tell me you've never tried coffee either…" said Leila cautiously. I shook my head, making her sigh.

"It's like you're from a totally different planet! You haven't tried _anything_ here before!" she noted. It was true.

"Okay so how about we do something to wake you up. I see you aren't a fan of coffee." said Leila. She saw my reaction to the bitter drink.

"Where are we going?" I asked her.

"It's a surprise," she replied.

After walking for a few minutes we came up to a place with strange and colorful metal objects.

"What are these?"

"Rollercoasters! They're super fun and they'll definitely wake you up!"

I gave her money for the tickets. She pulled my hand and led me to a very tall rollercoaster.

People got on it and the thing dropped down quickly causing the people to scream.

"People pay to be scared?" I asked Leila in a surprised tone.

"It's not scary! It's fun!" she replied. When it was our turn, Leila gave the man eight tickets. Four for me and four for her.

The rollercoaster went up slowly and dropped down suddenly. I screamed the first few times but realized Leila was right about it being more fun than scary. Our day went like this. Leila would pull me along on different rollercoasters. We played certain games and ate something called cotton candy. We ran out of tickets before we knew it. Leila went for more while I waited to play another game.

Loki appeared out of nowhere and grasped my arm.

"What are you doing? I didn't give you permission to leave!" he yelled. I was shocked.

"What do you mean? I don't need permission! Stop treating me like I belong to you!" I yelled back at him. He teleported us to a room in the hotel. His room.

"Loki what are you doing?! Take me back! You have no right to control me! You have no right to even take me away from Asgard!" I told him

"Will you just shut up?! I do what I want. If you don't obey me-"

"What? Kill me? If I don't obey you you'll kill me. Is that what you were going to say? Well go on. Kill me already. It's not like I have any purpose to live for! You won't take me back to Asgard because I am a 'witness'. I don't want to serve you like a belonging. I won't. Just kill me now and get things over with!" I yelled at him. What was I saying?

His expression softened. Why?

"I-" he started. Then he smiled.

"What?! What could possibly be funny to you Loki?"

"I don't even know your name," he said. I told him that it's alright to kill me and he's asking for my name? I will never understand him.

"Rina. My name is Rina."

He looked down, still smiling to himself. I used my chance and ran to the door. I didn't want to be near him. I didn't want to be with Leila either. I just wanted to go home. Running from him would probably make things worse but that's the only option I had. He didn't want me to leave for a reason otherwise he wouldn't care what I did as long as I was on Midgard. I did not want to find out what that reason was. I barely opened the door a crack before I was frozen in place. There was a pale blue aura around me. Loki stood in front of me.

"You have no place to run. No place to hide from me," he said. He was pointing his scepter at me and then I realized that his magic was holding me in place. He put his scepter down and instantly I collapsed to the floor. He pulled me up by my hair just like on our first encounter. He really needs to get rid of these habits if I will be staying with him for a long time.

I grunted, making him smile even more. God that smile was amazing! I could stare at it forever! Wait, what am I thinking?! He just pulled me up by my hair and I am thinking about his dreamy….amazing...gorgeous smile. And his eyes! So bright and green and amazing.

Both of us stood there for a moment just staring at each other dreamily. Loki suddenly broke the silence.

"You are to tell me where you go and when," he simply said before vanishing, just vanishing into thin air. I stood in the middle of his room, identical to mine but with a messy bed and no bags full of clothes next to the bed. I felt so down and confused. What would happen next? Will I stay on Midgard forever, never knowing true happiness? Why did I feel that way around Loki? I didn't want to go back to Leila. I didn't want to go back to my room. I didn't even want to be home with my mother. I just wanted to crawl under the unmade covers of Loki's bed and stay there forever in solitude.

I wondered why he was so… I don't know. Protective? No, he could never be protective of me. I mean, he didn't even know who I was. To him I was and am just some random maid from the palace staff. It took me a while to realize I was crying. Crying. Why was I so weak?! I hated myself for it. I hated Loki. I hated Midgard and everything about it!

I forced myself to stop. It will be like this forever. Better get used to it. And I needed to find Leila or else she'd be worried

* * *

Leila was walking towards the coffee shop. I came to think of it as our coffee shop since we met here. She finally spotted me saying, "Oh my god! I was so worried! Where were you?!"

"Uh well um I had to go back to the hotel with Loki. It was urgent," I replied.

"Loki? Really? I think he's a bit crazy if you ask me. If he bothers you you better tell me. Trust me, I know how to deal with psychos like him!" Oh Leila. She knows how to cheer a person up. She is so cheerful and open. She wasn't even mad that I left her. Well, I didn't leave her technically but Leila doesn't know that. I really wanted to tell her the truth but she just wouldn't understand.

* * *

**Loki POV**

Why did I feel this way for the girl? She was just another servant. Another silly Asgardian who would despise me if she knew who or rather _what_ I am. And yet I acted as if she was worth something. Right from the prison cell I could feel a tie to her. As if I met her before.

I spent most of the time just devising a plan to flee from Midgard and maybe attack Asgard. The Chitauri are ready. They have an army waiting to attack. The scepter they gave me is powerful. Very powerful and I can destroy this puny planet without even trying. I would have if I had somewhere else to go.

I have discovered a Midgardian gathering place called a library. Mortals sat there and read books as much as they wanted. This was the only part of Midgard that I did not despise completely.

I tried to read but usually just wandered off in thought. Soon they will pay. All of them. The mortals, Thor, and Odin. Oh especially Odin. He will see his mistake. He will see how truly powerful and strong I am. I will conquer the nine realms and what is beyond them. Not before killing the Chitauri of course. They think that I need revenge on one planet and then they can have the rest of the universe? Ha! I am the God of Lies. They will know their place just like everyone else.


	7. Chapter 7

**Should I add Loki POVs? Or should it just be Rina's thoughts?**

* * *

A few days ago I decided that I can not just sit here and wait for whatever was going to happen. Loki accidentally said something about a secret Midgardian agency. It was called S.H.I.E.L.D and they knew all about the Nine Realms unlike the rest of the Midgardians. If only I could find them I am sure they would find a way to help me. Of course I would have to turn Loki in but it would be worth it. Just the thought of being home made me feel good already. I had no idea where they might be located but I did not dare ask Loki anything else. He would suspect something.

The thought of turning Loki in made my stomach churn for a reason I was unfamiliar with. I think I...cared about him. I did not know why. But I shouldn't care about him. I helped him escape from prison and he repaid me by kidnapping me! I sighed. Leila was saying something but I was too busy thinking about my plan of escape to really notice anything she says.

My plan is nowhere near good. I had no way to track S.H.I.E.L.D. and even if I did I would have no mode of transportation. Loki would probably find out before I could step off of this island. He could teleport to me at any time. As far as I know, he could be spying on me with his magic right now. He supplied me with mortal currency but he didn't give me enough for a trip to wherever S.H.I.E.L.D. is located.

"Ok something is wrong. Rina tell me! It's gonna be better if you talk about it. Is it Loki? It better not be! Nobody messes with my girls!" Leila exclaimed.

"No, it's alright. I rather not talk about it. I do not think you will understand me," I told her.

"You sure? You won't know if you don't try! And I am sure I would understand, really I would."

"No, Leila I'm sure," I said firmly so that she won't persist. She shrugged in a suit yourself kind of way. We were sitting outside of our coffee shop, sipping a cold weather was perfect. Not a cloud in the sky. A gentle breeze swayed through the palm trees. Leila broke the silence.

"It's a shame summer's coming to an end. I'm gonna have to go back to New York."

"What? When are you leaving?" I couldn't help asking. I would be so lonely without her. I shouldn't be surprised since she told me from the beginning that she just visited her grandmother during the summer season.

"I'm gonna be gone next Wednesday. The only good part of leaving Hawaii is the cruise I take back."

"What is a cruise?" I did not know what she meant by this. How could anything be good when leaving such a fantastic place like this?

"Well, a cruise is a fancy ship that people go on to just relax while traveling somewhere."

An idea struck me. If I could go on this cruise with her then maybe I could find S.H.I.E.L.D. in New York. It would not hurt to try.

"Um Leila, do you know what S.H.I.E.L.D. is by any chance?" I asked her. She eyed me suspiciously and sighed before saying:

"Honey, I don't know how _you_ know about them but it won't help you in anyway. Just forget it and stay away from them. That's my advice to you."

"What? Leila this is very important to me. Please tell me all you know about them," I replied to her unhelpful advice.

"Alright, I'll tell you what I know about them: they can not be trusted. Please, Rina listen to me. Don't go chasing them. It won't do someone like _you_ any good."

What was that supposed to mean?

"Fine. I won't. How do you know about them anyways? I thought ordinary mor- I mean people shouldn't know about them." Leila winked at me. "Anyways, do you think I can join you on this cruise? I need to get away from Loki."

"Ha!" she yelled with so much power that I jumped. "I knew he was bothering you! But...I don't think you can book a ticket anymore."

She must have saw my millisecond of sheer disappointment so she added, "But I won't leave you hanging." She thought for a while.

"Ok, I guess you could stay in my room, but are you sure Loki won't track you down or anything?" I was took aback by her question. What did she mean? How did she know Loki could track me down? I ignored all three of those questions and thanked Leila for helping me out. It was getting dark so i headed toward the hotel.

* * *

My days were so boring. Of course it was entertaining when Leila took me somewhere but my routine was the same. I would wake up, wash up, eat at a cafe in the hotel, meet Leila at the coffee shop, go somewhere with her, eat, go back to the hotel and read, and eat dinner. I barely ever saw Loki. He told me to inform him of where I go but I chose to purposely ignore him. He won't harm me. For some reason he refuses to. Of course he never said that aloud but I could tell that he hesitates before yelling at me.

I was curled up in a chair, reading a book when Loki appeared. "What are you doing?!" he yelled.

I sighed. "Well good day to you too. I'm pretty sure that what I am doing is called reading. Have you tried it before? It's pretty interesting. Of course it also depends on _what_ you're reading but-"

"Enough. You know what I mean. I told you specifically to notify me of your whereabouts."

"Yeah but I didn't feel like it," I was purposely messing with him, knowing that he would do nothing. I met his gaze. I've seen his eyes many times but still couldn't get over their amazingness. Yep, as much as I hate to admit it, I was definitely in love with him.

The thought of it felt awkward. He was a prince/prisoner of Asgard. He is the god of lies and mischief. He possesses magic and could snap me like a twig without even blinking. And yet…

"Loki, I am not an object. I can do what I want and when! Just because you kidnapped me doesn't mean that you have total control over me!" Uh-oh. Wrong thing to say. This prince has an incredibly bad temper. Especially when you try to prove him wrong. Over the past few weeks, I had to learn that the hard way.

I felt the same aura of magic when he held me in place to prevent me from leaving before he finished talking. I mentally rolled my eyes since I currently couldn't do more than blink and breathe.

"Listen you maid! I do what I want and no little foolish maid can make me think otherwise! Do you understand that I can kill you easily?" His words stung. I couldn't cry until he put his scepter down but I could feel myself crying. He must have seen or felt my emotions because he released me from his magical grip.

As soon as I was free, tears rolled down. I felt ashamed of crying in front of him. I had to be an iron wall when with him. His expression was soft, concern in his beautiful eyes. I turned away and wiped my tears. Loki gently placed his hand on my shoulder. I froze. He was being so gentle that I could have sworn he was someone else. He then placed his other hand on my cheek, turning my head to face him. He wiped my tears and said: "Forgive me." When I blinked, he was gone leaving only a transparent green trail of magic behind.

What in the Nine Realms just happened? Loki, he….he just….

I sighed. I wanted him to be here right now.

* * *

**Loki Pov**

Rina...what a beautiful name. Saying what I had said to her made me feel awful. Being so weak made me feel awful too. What was happening to me? I had no time for romance! I was supposed to find a way to destroy Asgard, take over the Nine Realms, and then take over the universe! And yet I wanted to be with her. I haven't even had a decent look at her. I didn't know the color of her eyes until now. They were gray. A cool and relaxing gray. And her hair was so perfect. The most perfect shade of brown that could exist.

I forced myself to snap out of it. What was I thinking? I need to be thinking about other things. But I just can't stop thinking about her. Rina made me worried when she did not tell me where she had left off to. I thought she was in trouble. After all, I put her on a completely strange planet without warning or any explanations. There was nothing to explain really. I myself did not know why I had not killed her in the first place. I needed to see her again but I couldn't ask her right now. Not after the way I made her feel.

I needed another way so I sat there in my room thinking of the best way. Finally, I came up with an idea. I summoned a pale green bubble and said:

"Tomorrow at precisely 11:00, you shall report to my room."

There. A message. It won't scare her and there is no way way she would avoid hearing it. I sent it to her room. Rina will help me construct a poison I was working on but everytime I reach for an ingredient, the poison evaporates. Everything has to be done quickly or else it will not work.

* * *

Last night, I received a message from Loki telling me to go to his room at 11:00. That scared the life out of me. What was he going to do? What if I was going to be his test subject? I decided I won't go but a moment later I realized it would be worse if I didn't go. There is no way I could get out of this one. Either way, I should get rest. Since my last nightmare, I couldn't remember any of my dreams. At least that was good.

The next day, I was less worried about Loki and his invite. Whatever he planned couldn't be that bad. It took him a while to answer the door, though. Probably planning on how to make me miserable. When he did open the door, he was dressed in his Asgardian attire. His usual black and dark green colored clothes were a habit. Even when he was dressed in Midgardian clothes, he still wore his colors.

"Ah, Rina. Come here, you will help me with this," he said pointing to a table piled with liquids in clear jars. I gulped. Was I supposed to drink some sort of poison or something? I walked towards the table. The jars had labels on them but the strange thing was that they were written in runes. Somehow they were familiar.

It also reminded me of home. How I used to work in the hospital and prescribe different medications. How I would buy my mother medicine right after I got paid. The medicine wouldn't do much. Just take away a headache for a few hours or something like that. I missed her so much. She was probably worried out of her mind. I was so close to crying but I couldn't cry in front of _him_ again. Just then I realized how much I hated him. This was all his fault. Sure I'm the one who freed him in the first place, but couldn't he just leave me alone? He just had to take me along for a reason nobody knows! My hand acted by itself. I picked up a jar of red liquid and threw it at Loki. He dodged it just in time with a surprised look on his face.

_Great, _I thought. _Now he's gonna shoot me with one of his magical blue fireballs. Or worse. _

But he didn't. He knelt down and picked up the broken glass shards. The liquid was forming a small hole in the wall. It would be better if I hit Loki. Still, I felt like I should apologize, but I didn't. And I won't ever show _any_ weakness in front of him again. Ever.

"Anyways, now that your little fit between you and your mind is in the past, let's start. How were you at chemistry as a kid, Rina?" I felt angry but ignored the anger.

"Better than you, Loki. Why? You wanna see who's better? Or are you too scared to lose to a girl?"

"I will not have any contests Rina. Do as I say."

"Oh, I see. You know that I am better so you are hiding behind your wall of leader." This set him off.

"Alright. But do know that the poison I attempt to make is impossible to do by yourself," he replied.

"We'll see. Let's try this. What are we making?" He smiled and pointed to a page on the book. It was a really strong poison. Who was he going to kill?

"It's for Odin, isn't it?" I asked. He nodded and handed me an empty jar. I looked at him with a puzzled look.

"A jar? Really. Well okay. I thought you'd have a black and green cauldron or something," I teased. He smiled sarcastically. We both rushed to finish it. I had no trouble at all but Loki seemed to pause a lot. I looked up out of curiosity to see what he was doing. He added some white powder first. Then he picked up a vial of yellow liquid.

"Stop!" I yelled. He looked up and thank god he didn't pour it in yet.

"You can't mix potassium chloride and sulfur!" I explained. He realized what he was doing.

"Of course! How could I forget that?" he asked himself.

"Rina, you really are good in chemistry." I smiled. "You must help me more often."

"Thanks for your offer, but I don't think making poison for the king is in my style." It was a sarcastic comment but Loki doesn't take sarcasm well.

"I command you, Rina."

Ok, I really need to get away from this psychotic but good looking guy.

"Well in that case….anyways are we done for today?" Loki nodded.

"Yes, you may go back to your room," said Loki. I rushed to exit.


	8. Chapter 8

Poisoning the king...my dream job. Loki has been asking me to help him many times since I like chemistry and he never really payed attention to it in school. I never knew the princes or their personalities but Loki seemed like the star student who payed attention to everything. But then again, he _was _Loki. Full of surprises.

I threw another shirt in the bag. Today I was leaving with Leila. Taking a last look at the room, I ran out. I ran as fast as I could, dodging the tourists. I saw the coffee shop up ahead and slowed down. Trying to catch my breath, I walked over to Leila.

"Hi," I panted.

"Oh hey. Ready to go?'

"Yes. Let's go."

We walked over to the docks. Leila was talking about a model with pink hair she saw in a magazine advertisement. I nodded whenever she stopped talking. I wasn't listening because I was too busy looking around, anticipating Loki to find me. But there was no sign of his black hair so I calmed down a bit.

The ships were large, but Asgard had bigger ones. I also noticed how ugly they were. Most were white and rusty, completely unlike the beautiful Asgardian ships. The more I looked around, the more I realized how beautiful Asgard was and how lucky I was to be an Asgardian.

Leila led me toward a red ship that said _Royal Cruises_ in gold paint. This was the best ship so far. We walked up a ramp. The hallways had blue, velvet wallpaper and a tan carpet. Several paintings were hung throughout the hallway.

There were families having tea in a garden or girls on swings or a lovely landscape. Under different circumstances, I probably would have admired the paintings, but currently they meant absolutely nothing to me because I had much bigger problems right now.

Leila led me to her room. The room was a bit smaller than the one in the hotel but this was a ship after all. There were two circular windows, one by each bed.

"I asked a friend who works on this ship to add an extra bed," Leila smiled. Well thank god for that. I wouldn't want to sleep on the floor.

"Great."

"Wanna go up? I didn't have time to eat cause the ship left so early." Leila asked. I nodded.

The ship had already set sail and the fresh air felt relaxing. I peered over the rail. The ocean was so blue. I have never seen an ocean before and never thought that this was how I would see my first ocean.

Leila was ordering something at a small restaurant. I haven't realized how starved I was until now. She came back with two trays and two drinks.

"What's this?" I asked.

"Burger and fries. I know it's not the proper breakfast and all but...who cares when you're hungry, right?"

We sat at a table next to the rail. Some birds flew by and Leila tossed a fry up to them. We talked about New York. Leila said she would help me find a hotel once we get there. I don't know how long we've been sitting at the table but talking to Leila let me relax for a second. Until I saw Loki. At first I thought I was hallucinating but he really was there in his Asgardian uniform, his scepter with him.

I shot up immediately.

"L-Loki! I...I just..."

"Silence!" he bellowed. "I can't believe I actually started to trust you! But you're like everyone else! Worthless fools who will soon feel my wrath and beg for mercy as I destroy everything you care about!"

"Back off prince!" Leila shouted. I was shaking but managed to stand straight. What was Leila doing?!

Loki turned to her. "You are a mere mortal who understands nothing! Stay out of this and I shall spare you!"

"No! Leave Rina alone. I will take her back to Asgard no matter what. Do you think Odin will be pleased to hear of this, Loki?" she yelled back.

I didn't understand what Leila was saying. How did she know about Asgard and Odin? Nothing was making sense. Loki had a look of pure hatred on his face and I noticed his scepter starting to glow. It took me a while to understand what was about to happen and when I did, I jumped in front of Leila yelling, "No!"

But I was too late. Leila stepped aside as I jumped and the next thing I knew, there was a sharp pain in my right shoulder and I was falling down.

I realized I hit water when I couldn't breathe. I tried to swim up but couldn't. It felt as if my arm was made of cement. Was this the end of me? I could tell there were tears in my eyes. And then there was only darkness.

* * *

I woke up in a dark room. My surroundings looked like a junkyard. Stuff was thrown around everywhere and I lay on a stiff mattress, covered by a thin grey blanket.

The memories rushed in. The day before seemed like a dream. Maybe it was. But where was I?

I rubbed my eyes and when my hand made contact with the skin, it felt cool. Strangely cool as if my hand was...metal. I dared to open my eyes.

I just lay there for a minute, taking it in. Was it real? What in the Nine Realms was I looking at? My hand was just like before but now it was silver and metallic.

I screamed. I screamed as loud as I could because why the hell not? Nothing was making sense and now my hand was made out of metal! Metal!

Then I started to cry. I hated myself for crying but I couldn't help it. It was definitely an unladylike cry but who cares? When I finally shut up, I heard whispers. Then someone came in. Loki.

My eyes widened in realization. I got out of bed and stormed up to him. He looked a little shaken.

"Rina, get back in bed-"

"_You_! You did this! You're the reason my hand is metal! I _hate you_! I hate you Loki, I hate you!" I started crying once more. "You did this!" I hit his chest with both hands. The metal one acted as if nothing happened to it. The metal hand moved just like I wanted it.

I slowly dropped to the floor, holding my face in my hands. I screamed and cried while Loki was gently patting my back. He pulled me into a hug and I just cried into his shirt. Soon there were no more tears left in my eyes. I sat in Loki's embrace, staring into nothing and thinking of nothing in particular.

I pushed him back when I returned to normal and paced in front of the mattress.

"_Why_?" I whispered.

"I...I didnt mean to! Your not so mortal friend was getting on my nerves and I...I just-"

"What do you mean 'not so normal'? And shooting someone with your magic fire...thing just because you're angry is not something you should do just cause you can!"

"Your friend will fill you in. I wanted to apologize. That's all."

I laughed a slightly psychotic laugh. "You. Want. To. _Apologize?_ For what? For giving me a metal hand?! Oh you don't need to. It's no big deal, Loki."

The look on his face was shock. I narrowed my eyes. "_What_?"

He gulped. Wait. Was he turning _blue_? He couldn't be. I was hallucinating. His eyes turned red. I suddenly felt dizzy. The dream I had back at the hotel... Loki looked just like the Frost Giant.

"You are..." I started.

"A Frost Giant," he finished. I looked at both of my hands. One was metal and the other was...blue.

"What? This can't...I- I am _not _a Frost Giant! This can't be happening! I'm dreaming!" But something made me feel that this was real.

Great. Just when I thought things couldn't get worse, they did. I wanted to throw another crying and screaming fit but I was too exhausted. So I just sat on the mattress, leaning against the dirty gray wall. Loki had his back turned to me. He was probably thinking things through.

Prince Loki was really a Frost Giant. Would I be disgusted by him if I wasn't one too? Probably. I was taught by the Asgardians of the village that Frost Giants are monsters. I would follow the crowd. Everyone's scared, I'm scared. People act like a herd of cows. They do something because everyone else is doing it.

But the more I looked at his blue arms, the more I realized how intricate Frost Giants were. My own arm was covered in markings. The one that wasn't metal. What a strange combination and all in one day. This insanity has to be a dream. It can't be real! Why me? What did I do to be both a Frost Giant and a cyborg?

So my mom is either a Frost Giant or I'm adopted. She and my father helped kids all over the Nine Realms at time of war. There was a war on Jotunheim once. The one where Odin took the casket. Maybe my parents found me there. Ugh! Everything was so confusing!

Loki turned. "I guess both of us are Jotuns."

"Did you know you were one?" I asked.

"Only recently. Odin took me to Asgard as a relic. Not because he cared. Because he wanted to make peace with Jotunheim."

"Poor you. Is that why you have anger issues?" I don't know why I was pressing on him so hard. I really felt sorry but I was still very angry.

Loki sighed in frustration as he sat down next to me. "You know...you could be a real pain sometimes. But I like that you show your anger instead of hiding it."

"Yeah well, usually guys like a calm girl but I guess since you have anger issues, you like a girl with anger issues too."

"Rina, please. Forgive me."

"I forgive you," I said in a neutral voice.

"You don't mean it."

"Well obviously I don't mean it! You really think I'll forgive you just like that, don't you?! You are the reason I'm here! You kidnapped me when I should have been helping my sick mother! You probably didn't even help her!"

I was expecting him to counter me and say that he really did help her but he stayed quiet. finally he nodded.

"What? What does that mean?" I asked frantically.

"You're right. I didn't help her. When I tried to heal her through you, I couldn't. There was no where for the magic to go. She...she's dead, Rina. I'm so sorry. I didn't want to tell you at first because you would have started crying in the middle of nowhere. But then I couldn't bring myself to do it. I know I should have told you before..."

My mouth dropped. I didn't want to cry anymore than I already had. It was embarrassing enough crying in front of Prince Loki himself so if I started crying again, I would lose it. I searched my brain for something else to focus on.

"Where's Leila?" I asked quietly.

"Uh... I wasn't expecting that kind of reaction. I mean I thought-"

"You thought I would cry. Where's Leila?" I asked again.

He led me through a series of hallways. The walls were made of glass and concealed what I thought were weapons. I recognized a few Asgardian weapons such as swords and even Midgardian guns. The rest were completely odd and unrecognizable.

"What are-"

"Your friend will tell you."

The hallway seemed to go on forever but Loki finally came to a stop in the middle of nowhere. He turned to one of the glass walls and knocked twice. He knocked twice again, paused, and knocked three times. The wall separated in two to reveal a door. He opened it and gestured for me to walk. It was completely dark inside. I couldn't even see my hand in front of my face. Loki closed the door and the light turned on.

I saw a green haired Leila sitting at a table, polishing one of the metal weapons I saw in the hallway. But her hair was unnaturally green. It was a bright neon green that made me want to shield my eyes from the intense hue. When she turned to me, I noticed a strange marking around her right eye. Triangular shapes on top made it look like she had huge eyelashes. A zigzag line sprouted from the corner of her eye and ended in four dots. The marking went down all the way to her cheek.

I gaped at her but she only smiled. "Oh my god! I am so glad to finally see you! You were out for three days!" She looked different but sounded the same. Loki sat back in a chair, propping his feet on the table and closing his eyes.

"Yeah...I got a metal arm now!" I said with fake enthusiasm. "My dream come true. Anyways,what's going on?! What are those in the hallway, what happened on that ship, and why do you look like that?"

"Weelll...that's a lot of stuff to answer! Um...let's start with...me. Those weapons are not exactly here legally. They're stolen."

"Stolen? By whom?"

"By me and my friend, Max. We sell them to people who...can't exactly have them."

"So in other words you're an illegal weapon dealer." Leila nodded slowly. I sighed. "Like this day couldn't get more strange. Go on."

"Ok. You live in one of the Nine Realms. I don't. And you're not in one of the Nine Realms right now."

"What do you mean?"

"There are planets outside the Nine Realms, Rina. No one in the Nine Realms knows that but somehow, Frost Prince over there figured it out. The ruler before Odin concealed that information for an unknown reason. Everyone in the the Cluster, which is everything outside the Realms, knows about the Realms but due to an agreement with the previous ruler, they stay hidden. I am from a planet called Kamia and I was on Midgard because I needed to sell a few top weapons to a very rich man. I didn't want you to find this out like this. I wanted to take you to Asgard, away from that psycho," she gestured to Loki, "Did you know he's planning universe domination? He almost has a ready army of creatures called Chitauri!"

She gave me a minute to take it all in. That was a lot of information! I never even thought there was anything beyond the Nine Realms.

"Wait, so you knew I was from Asgard?"

"Not Asgard to be exact," Leila corrected, "but yes. Every Kaminian has a sense whether it's predicting weather or figuring out which planet someone's from."

I wanted to ask her more but the lights went off. Leila told me to keep quiet. I heard the door open in the darkness. It closed and the lights turned on. A man with lilac hair had walked in. He had a similar marking on his right eye but his was dark green instead of black.

"Hey Max. News?" Leila asked the man.

"Uh, three more deals on Zia. Kriss wants an MM-6, Jan will pay us eight thousand for those swords and our very important client wants Mjolnir."

Whatever this Max was saying made no sense. The only word I recognized was Mjolnir.

I blurted out without thinking, "How will you get Mjolnir?"

The man turned to me. "By stealing it, of course." He smiled. Something about that smile was familiar.

"But only Thor can pick it up," I countered.

"Honey, Odin enchanted the hammer so that no one in the Nine Realms can pick it up unless it's the owner, right?" I nodded. "Well, we're not from the Realms, are we?" I shook my head. He smiled again. God that smile...I know it from somewhere.

"You still won't be able to do it. The hammer returns to Thor-"

"Unless you know anything about weapon smuggling , I suggest you stay quiet." I liked this man less and less by the second. Then it hit me. He was the guard at the palace. I ran into him when I was fired! He was probably selling a weapon there…yet it stilldidn't feel complete.

"How do you like the hand?" he asked as he took his jacket off. I noticed that both of his hands were metallic. He noticed me staring and added, "Oh that's not all." He pulled the hem of his pants up to reveal a metal left foot. "The eyes too," he smiled.

"You did my hand?" I asked.

"Max Walser, best mechanic in the Cluster," he shook my hand. A pounding on the door woke Loki up. I thought it was another one of Leila's friends but the alarm on their faces told me otherwise.

"Open up! We know you're there!" came a voice from behind the door.

"Max!" Leila growled. "You led them here! The lights should be off!"

"They must've broken the control panel! Get in the ship."

"No we need to get the rest! We'll lose everything!" Leila said as she ran toward the door. Max held her back.

"They already took it! Those don't matter! Get the ones in the back and get on the ship!" Max commanded. Leila calmed down. She was about to move when the door fell down. Armed men with bright yellow hair came in.

"Maxim Walser and Leilaty Mikita you are under arrest for weapon theft and smuggling weapons banned by the Gate," said one man.

I turned to Leila and noticed that her hair wasn't green anymore. The top half was a dull red and the bottom was a bright bubblegum pink.

One man noticed Loki. He was sitting in the chair, alarmed yet something about him seemed...off.

"Prince Loki of Jotunheim!" The man was clearly surprised.

Loki raised his hands up in a sign of defeat. Loki would never give up that easily! Something was wrong and it definitely involved the god of mischief.

The man walked towards Loki, his gun aimed at him. When the man touched Loki, he disappeared. Of course! This was one of Loki's

holograms. Loki, the real Loki, appeared in the middle of the room. His staff was high in the air

and when he brang it down, the room was washed with blue magic.

All the men were frozen in place, shock plastered on their faces. Leila didn't lose herself. Her hair now a dark green shade, she ran out the door to collect the weapons. Max's hair was just a bit paler than Leila's but it was the same green color.

"Leila! Damn it..." Max led me to a wall. He knocked six times and it parted to show a strange red spaceship inside

"Loki!" He called.

"I'm boarding last! If you haven't noticed, I'm the one keeping them from capturing you!" Loki responded. His forehead was beaded with sweat and his hands started to shake. "Get the damn girl!"

Max ran off to find Leila while I sat in one of the six seats. It felt so bad to be unable to help anyone.

Max came back with Leila. Both had their hands full. They quickly dropped the weapons in a corner of the large ship. With a press of a button, one wall fell down and a dark sky was revealed. I called Loki and as soon as he boarded, the ship took off.

* * *

**Let's admit it:...this was one crazy af chapter! I liked writing this one. More crazy surprises in the next chapter. Sorry it took so long, I was trying to launch my story for the 100. Please review!**


	9. Chapter 9

Loki sat across from me. His head was thrown back and his eyes were closed, clearly exhausted. Max was sitting in the driver's seat with Leila at his side. She was pointing at the screen and arguing with Max. The Leila I knew on Midgard was different. The blonde Leila was carefree and cheery while the different colored hair Leila was serious. I wanted to ask her why everyone's hair changed color but she was busy and now was the perfect time to apologize to Loki.

Making sure Leila was still busy, I slid over to Loki. He opened his eyes and turned to me.

"What do you want?"

Ouch. I don't remember exactly what I said but I knew it was selfish and mean. I guess I was just in shock...

"I'm sorry Loki. I didn't mean to be so rude. Just...there was so much going on and I just wasn't being myself. I'm not like this usually...I'm sorry. Tell me again what happened, please."

"I'm not in the mood for sad stories. You had your chance. I trusted you and you didn't care. Don't care. Like the rest."

His words stung but I didn't let them get too deep. Instead, I took his hand and smiled at him. "We all mess up, Loki. But don't you think everyone deserves a second chance? Tell me. I want to know."

He groaned. "Why do you convince me so easily?" He squeezed my hand before letting it go. I frowned inside but kept smiling on the outside.

"Well...Odin isn't my real father. When he took the Casket, he also took me. Apparently he found me alone and crying. He took me to Asgard in hopes of making peace with the Jotuns. The king of Jotunheim, Laufey, is my real father."

I frowned. "At least you know your who your father is. I have no idea. My brother died a long time ago, my father, if he is my father, left after my brothers death; and now my mother is dead!"

There was a loud crash. Both of us turned to see Max on the floor.

"Sorry...just...ignore me. I'm fine," Max mumbled. I hurried over to help him while Leila laughed.

As soon as he was up, he grabbed my shoulders and asked, "Did you just say your mother is...dead?"

"Uh...yes?"

He looked over to Leila, who shrugged and nodded. Max took my hand and led me to another room on the ship. This room was dark. Leila put all the weapons she managed to save here.

As soon as he closed the door I asked, "What are you doing?"

Before I could react, he pulled me into a hug. I tried to get away but he was much stronger.

"It broke my heart to leave you, little sis."

I gasped. Now I knew why he seemed so familiar. I couldn't believe what he just said.

"A-Anthony?" I stuttered.

"I was so surprised to see you. What were you doing with Prince Loki in the first place?"

I ignored his question. "What? Anthony, where have you been? I...I can't believe it! So much happened and you...I thought you were...oh my god! Would you just explain yourself already?"

He took my metal hand in his and I shivered. It was so strange that I could feel everything through metal.

"I'll explain everything but later," he said.

I blinked. "Anthony, you've been missing for...centuries and you aren't going to tell me why? Who are you really?"

"Don't call me Anthony please. Just Max, ok?"

I opened and closed my mouth over and over, trying to think of what to say. Why was he doing this? I couldn't stand this so I marched out and sat back in my original seat.

I hugged my knees and stared at nothing in particular on the floor. Anthony-Max...was back. He wasn't dead. And he wasn't the mortal boy I thought he was. All this time...and to think he didn't tell me earlier! How long would he have kept this secret?

I haven't realized Loki was talking to me until he put a hand on my shoulder. I looked up. "What?"

"What was that all about?"

I sighed. "I'll tell you later..."

We sat in silence for an awkwardly long time. Nobody spoke. I kept thinking the things Max told me over and over. All the childhood memories rushed in and I bit back the urge to cry.

"Dammit!" Leila called out. Max walked up to the screen.

"We're gonna have to land in the middle of nowhere. Try to get us to that forest right there," he pointed at the screen.

Leila grunted as she tried to give us a soft landing. That didn't work. If I didn't strap myself with the seatbelt, I would have hit the ceiling pretty hard. Max tried to open the entrance but it was jammed.

"Nice, Lei. You broke the ship! We'll be stuck here forever!" Max complained.

"Hey! It's hard enough driving it. It's not my fault you stole this piece of junk you call a ship! Next time you will drive!"

"I was and I was doing a much better job than you! And besides, we're on the lookout! Even if we might be able to find a city nearby, we won't be able to get the things we need!"

"Just stop it both of you!" I yelled. "We won't get anywhere like this! Let's just move out and see if we can find some food and shelter because if this thing collapses, we wouldn't want to be in it! And you-" I walked up to Max, "are telling me everything."

Leila and Max grabbed the bags with weapons and before Max could run off ahead, I grabbed his arm. He glared at me and said, "Just as stubborn as before, aren't you?"

"An- Max...tell me the truth. Who are you in the first place? Why did you fake your death and-"

"Let's just say, I'm not what you think." He pushed me against a tree and pinned me with his hand. "Ask one more time and I will silence you with this," he said as he pulled out a gun.

"Y-you wouldn't do that," I said nervously.

"What makes you think that, huh Rina?"

"I'm your sister! We grew up together!"

"So? You think I care about you? We aren't even siblings, and you are a blue frost freak. A revolting monster and no one will ever care for you!"

My mouth was wide open. I looked down, trying to hide my tears from him. He walked on and Leila ran after him. "What do you think you're doing?!" I heard her yell in the distance. I sat down and leaned against the tree, sobbing. My brother was alive and he...he treated me like I was nothing. We spent a whole childhood together. Now that I think of it, Max lived longer than a mortal should and he never really aged. How could I have missed this detail?

When I stopped crying, I stood up. I was surprised to see Loki right in front of me.

"Done yet?" he asked with no sympathy in his voice.

"You're still here? I thought you left with…"

The thought of Max made me feel so angry. How could he do this to me?

"Well I couldn't have you return to Asgard. And besides, you wouldn't survive in this wild forest all alone. Someone as clumsy and weak as you would die immediately."

Even though his words hurt me, I ignored him. We walked on until I saw smoke in the distance.

"Look! Maybe it's a cottage," I told Loki. It was nice to have someone with me, even if he was the reason I was here in the first place. It turned out that I was correct. It was a little house and the smoke was coming out of a chimney. I started toward it but Loki stopped me.

"Hold on. We need to know it's safe," he told me. We crept up to the house. Through a window, I saw a family enjoying a meal at a table. The father was talking to his two boys, making them laugh out loud.

I looked at Loki, but he wasn't there. Instead, I saw him appear in the house, behind the father's back. His scepter was drawn back as he was about to stab the father.

I acted on sheer instinct and smashed the glass window. Little did I know that I would cut myself terribly if I jumped with my hands first.

I grabbed Loki's staff, making the glass in my hands go deeper. I screamed in pain as I ran outside. Little glass shards were stuck in my feet and with each step I ran, it hurt more.

My vision blurred with tears and that made it even harder to run. Eventually I fell down. My head turned frantically as I expected to see Loki. For a second, I didn't but as I turned around I saw a silhouette that formed into Loki.

"Stupid fool! How dare you touch my scepter? How dare you get in my way?! I am Loki! The prince of Asgard! I do what I want whenever I want!"

I whimpered and clutched the scepter harder. "I won't give it back until you promise me that you will never kill again!"

He sighed and rubbed his temples. "You do realize...that I can easily take it away from you? I can kill you in the most painful and slowest way possible. I can make you dread the day you were born! I can be your worst nightmare!"

I kept quiet for a second but finally said, "Then do it. I've wanted death ever since I freed you. Ever since I found out my mother is dead. Ever since I found out my brother is alive but hates me. Do it."

I squeezed my eyes shut and turned my head away, preparing for the worst. I flinched when he took my hand and started picking the glass out. He sighed once more.

"Why are you so dumb? Who jumps through a window with their hands in front of them, hmm?"

"At least I'm not the crazy killer. You didn't even think twice before killing him! You rid a person of their life! He was just enjoying a meal with his family! You wanted to kill the man when his wife and children were watching! Do you understand how terrible that is? He didn't do anything to you. Why did you even want to kill him? Don't tell me you wanted to kill the whole family and then live there until we find a way back home? You seem so okay with that! You can't just kill because you fell like it, Loki!"

"I didn't kill him! And I won't have a simple...girl telling me what to do!"

"I'm not telling you what to do. I won't tell you what to do. And I don't want to tell you what to do. But what I want, can, and will do is guide you in the right direction. Please Loki, let someone in. You can tell me anything. It's not like I'm going to tell anyone. I don't have anyone to talk to anyways." I don't know what I was saying. My brain was talking for me.

"You know what...maybe you're right," he quietly said.

I felt the same cool magic as the day I arrived on Midgard. Loki was healing my cuts. I watched cautiously as the beautiful blue magic danced on the palm of my hand. I sighed. After all I've been through, I finally felt relaxed and at ease. Loki stood up and the magic went away.

"We should find some shelter."

I nodded. We walked on and on but there was no shelter near by. Loki told me about his childhood. He felt like he was always neglected by his family. He told me about the way he attacked Midgard and why he was in prison. I didn't know what to say.

"Well, people do crazy things all the time but...Loki, you must understand that you hurt people around you. Killing isn't a simple thing. It's a big deal believe it or not." Loki didn't reply. He just kept looking straight ahead. We passed a tree I swear I've seen before.

"Loki, we've passed this place earlier," I said in frustration. As if on cue, the ship appeared.

"Ugh! We've been going in circles damnit! No. Wait... It's this place. This whole...forest is controlled by someone. We're not alone. Someone is using magic to confuse us, I could feel it."

Just then, the ship disappeared and we appeared by a creek.

"How...what?" I asked in confusion.

"Someone's spying on us. I don't know who it is but I could feel their magic's presence all around us."

"We need to get out of here. If-"

Just then Loki dropped to the floor.

"Loki!" I knelt down next to him and checked his pulse. He was unconscious. A hand wrapped over my mouth. I struggled against it but whoever was holding me was much stronger. I tried to scream but without any luck. Then, everything went dark.

* * *

Two men dressed in black leather were laughing in front of me when I woke up. When they noticed me, they stopped.

"Well look who's finally awake. Our master took great interest in you. You're not from here, are you, little girl?" the taller man said. I stayed quiet.

"Talk when he asks you, runt! Where did you come from?" he slapped me really hard across my face.

"A-Asgard!" I whimpered. My cheek burned from the slap.

"The hell is Asgard?" one of them asked.

"It is a lowly planet in the Realms, you morons. I never told you to hurt her. Someone might get fired." said a voice in the back. Another man dressed in a white suit came out of the shadows. He looked a bit older than me but he was extremely good looking.

"What are you doing here, and with a prince himself, hm?" he asked.

I kept quiet for a minute but when the man raised his hand to slap me again, I said, "I...I was kidnapped by Loki. I helped him escape from prison so he took me along."

"You are telling the truth. Good girl. And a beautiful lady at that," he added as he brushed his hand against my cheek. I flinched.

"Don't pull away from me, little flower. My, my. What delicate beauty is stranded far from home. I believe you have nothing else to tell me. I can see it in your beautiful eyes. What is your name, love?"

As attractive as he was, this man was also a creep. "Rina," I said emotionlessly.

"How lovely. You must be starving. Come have dinner with me."

I swallowed. Panic rushed through me. How long was I supposed to stay here? The man stretched his hand out. He was so pale. I gingerly took his help.

The halls we walked through were grand. White marble walls and golden floors were polished so they shined. Beautiful flowers were put in golden vases. And an eerily beautiful map of the Nine realms and what I recognized as the Cluster was hand drawn on the ceiling.

"Amazing, is it not?" The man smiled. I looked away from him. He pushed two heavy golden doors apart to reveal a lavish dining room. A long white table took up the whole room. So many plates of unrecognizable food lined the table. I realized I haven't eaten in three days but I held my head high and refused to enter the room.

"Take me back right now. Where's Loki?" I asked with confidence even though my terror of this gorgeous man grew bigger with every second. He smiled.

"Does it matter? You're with me now. I can give you anything you want, dear. Just ask."

I started to shake. The man wrapped his arm around me. "Many people are afraid of me but you shouldn't be. I won't hurt you."

He snapped his fingers and we appeared in an incredible garden filled with beautiful flowers I've never seen before. The man picked a pale blue flower and handed it to me. I didn't take it so he put it in my hair. I stood there frozen.

"Your silence offends me, love. Perhaps a gift will make you feel warmer towards me," he chuckled. He snapped his fingers again and we appeared in another beautiful room.

"This is your room but don't get too attached. You won't be needing it soon." This made me tremble even more. I hugged myself in hopes of making the shaking stop. The man pushed me down but I fell on the soft bed.

He slowly leaned towards me. I closed my eyes and turned away. His warm breath tickled the skin behind my ear as he said, "Do you remember the name Khaos?" He laughed as if he just heard the funniest joke. "Choose a dress," he pointed to a white door and left. I thought I would cry but strangely I didn't. Instead, I walked up the the grand window and pulled the curtains open. I gasped at the view. I was underwater and fish swam by the window like it was nothing. Maybe I could break the window and swim up? I didn't know how to swim but it couldn't be that hard. Besides, it's better than staying here with whoever this creep is.

I took a chair that was outlined with gold. My metal hand made it much easier to lift. I pounded on the window, I threw the chair at it, I tried to break it in anyway possible but it didn't even scratch. I remembered what Loki said about magic. Whoever Khaos was, he knew magic. I sat on the soft bed for hours, it seemed. There were books here but they were all written in a different language. Finally I walked up to the door.

I gasped as I twisted the doorknob open. Inside were rows and rows of dresses. So many colors and shapes filled my eyes that I felt nauseous. I dug around until I found a nightgown. It was the only thing that wasn't colorful to death.

For the hundredth time, I checked that the main door was locked. And it was. There was no way for me to get back to Loki just like there was no way to get back to Asgard. It's as if I was cursed with bad luck and evil guys for eternity.

Now that I thought of it, Loki never was bad. He loved a little chaos and darkness but his family was the fault of his downfall. There was a rapid knock on the door. I hesitated before saying, "What?"

The door opened and a beautiful lady walked in. She wore a frilly white gown and was outlined in diamonds. Her platinum hair was pulled into a complex braid. She sat next to the bed and smiled at me as if we were old friends.

"Rina! Are you really going in that?"

"Who are you?"

"You don't remember me?"

I searched my brain. Nothing. I have never met anyone like her before. "No."

"I'm Claere! We were childhood friends when you lived in Jotunheim. You must forgive my brother Khaos."

I didn't remember anything from Jotunheim. Wow. I had a childhood there. How old am I? And Khaos is her brother. I could see the resemblance. She had sharp features like him. Her was the exact same color as his. And both looked overall good looking.

"Your brother is crazy. And since you seem to know more about me than me, would you please explain?!"

"I don't understand," Claere said. "How do you not remember anything?"

I shrugged. That was an answer I would like to know myself. Claere sighed.

"It's Laufey. It's all his fault. That stupid power thirsty idiot!"

I raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Laufey got rid of the real ruler of Jotunheim. Nobody knows if he truly killed him or if he just erased his memory, but there are many theories. None of them are nice. But Laufey did it because he was the advisor that wanted power. Before that, things were peaceful. The Cluster and the Realms communicated easily. There were no rules or laws that the Cluster must stay hidden. No wars went on between the must know who the ruler is or where he might be. But that's off topic. Let's see what you could wear."

"No. I'm not wearing anything! All I want is to get back to Loki and...and get out of here. I don't know any of you. I just want to go home. Leave me alone," I sobbed. I've had enough of this. I should have never helped Loki. If I hadn't helped him, I wouldn't have learned any of this. I'd rather live in lies. My mother would have lived if I didn't help Loki. I would have believed that Max/Anthony died while he cared for me.

Claere placed a hand on my shoulder. "Don't. Touch. Me," I warned. "Just let me go."

"Rina, dear. Khaos will help you. You should see him before you go."

"Will he let me go after I see him?"

Claere nodded enthusiastically.

"Great. Let's go then."

"Uh, no. It's not that easy Khaos is hosting one of his annual balls today. You can't go like this."

I groaned. "Fine. But make it quick."

Claere squealed and took my hand. She kept pulling out dresses and I refused every one of them. All of them were complex and looked like they took a long time to put on. They were all tight or colorful. Maybe this was the planet's fashion but I didn't like it. I finally found a loose black dress. It had a few rhinestones on the bottom and a silver belt but that was mostly all.

Claere wanted to do something fancy to my hair but I was in a hurry. I was so worried about Loki. He had an extreme fever when he passed out.

Claere was in deep thought. She told me she'd be right back so I was left alone. I stared at my reflection in the mirror. I didn't look right. Something was just...off. At first I thought it was all the metal arm but then I realized it was me. I looked...sweet and innocent. The metal arm was just a piece of metal. Nothing about it was special in terms of looks. My hair disgusted me. It was up to my hips. That was the Asgardian trend. I dug around in the drawers until I found scissors. Pieces of my hair dropped to the floor. My hair was a little past my shoulders now. I frowned. Since when was I so vain?

Claere came back and dropped something silver to the ground. "Oh Rina. What have you done to your hair? You know what? It looks better like this," she said as she picked the silver object up.

Claere took my bangs and pinned them back with a silver clip. She smiled to herself as if remembering something from the past.

"I've seen this before," I noted.

"Yes. You gave it to me for my 100th birthday."

I stayed quiet. What was my life like before I came to Asgard? I had friends back then. A different family. Maybe even a lover. The worst part is that I don't even remember anyone. It was as if my whole life was erased and redone by someone.

I walked with Claere through the halls. Even from here, I could hear the lovely music and chatter. Khaos was waiting in a deep purple suit. He was talking to one of the men dressed in black leather.

Khaos smiled when he noticed us. "Did you tell her?" he asked his sister. She nodded.

Khaos slowly leaned toward me. It looked as if he was about to kiss me. Then I realized he _was_ about to kiss me. I sidestepped.

"What are you doing?" I asked him. He was frozen with outstretched lips. Khaos regained his posture before asking Claere. "You didn't tell her?"

Claere stayed silent for a moment. "Oh! You wanted me to tell her that! Sorry brother. This is something you should do yourself."

"What is she talking about?" I asked Khaos.

He gulped. "Ah... Let's go somewhere else."

I followed him. He attempted to take my hand but I pulled away. He opened a door. I stepped outside. This was the beautiful garden. Khaos was already seated on a bench.

I sat down next to him and waited for him to explain.

"So, you really are Rina? Our Rina?" he finally asked.

"I don't know what you mean by 'our Rina' but I think so. There's bits and pieces that seem familiar but it's as if someone doesn't want me to remember something."

"I mean that you are our childhood Rina. Back when the Cluster and Realms were allies, we knew each other. Me and you knew each other forever and-"

"Hold on. You make this sound like I am older than Odin himself."

Khaos smiled. "Frost Giants and Kamians age differently. Anyways, we knew each other since birth. We grew older and you and I...how should I put this? Well we grew more and more attached to each other-"

"Don't tell me we were a couple..."

Khaos gulped. "But...but we were."

* * *

**Grrr...I hate this chapter for so many reasons. Please review. Thanks to the people that PM me and give me suggestions. Please review! I appreciate every one!**


	10. Chapter 10

His eyes were so majestic. The prettiest shade of blue I have ever seen. How long have we been staring at each other? I turned away from him. What was I supposed to say?

"Khaos...I...I don't know what to say. I hate to do this to you but...you are a stranger to me. I don't remember you or your sister or anything really. You seem like a nice guy but...I'm sorry."

"I know. And I understand but...I thought you were dead and...I'm just so glad to finally see you. I never stopped loving you."

I felt so terrible to do this to him. I wanted to remember him but no matter how much I tried, I couldn't do it. He remained a stranger to me.

"I'm sorry," he apologized. "I shouldn't have said that."

"No, it's alright. Can I have some time alone?" I asked him.

"Yes. Sure. I'll be in the ballroom."

I sat down on the floor when he left. How could I do this to the poor guy? He didn't even do anything. How did I lose my memory? I couldn't believe we used to be a couple. I would never fall for a guy like him. At a certain angle, he was insane. But he was so gorgeous…

Ugh! What was I thinking?

"Hello Rina. I hear you lost your memory," said a voice in the dark. I turned, looking for the speaker but no one was there. A lady appeared out of the shadows.

"Who are you?" I tried to sound confident but my voice trembled.

"If you didn't lose your memory, you would remember me as an enemy of you and your...lover. But since you don't remember, think of me as a helper. I am Lady Night. A spirit of evil and darkness."

"What do you want from me?"

"As you already know, Khaos is my enemy. You'd think evil and chaos are a perfect team but...sadly we're not. Khaos is…well, he's chaos. A spirit ruler of chaos is strong and I can't hurt him. He put a charm around himself, the coward. So I want you to get rid of him for me. In return, I will give you your memory back."

"You took my memory away?"

"No. But I know who did," she smiled.

"I would never kill anyone! Especially Khaos. Get away from me!"

"Alright. I can't force you. I would if I could, but there's a charm around you too. He cares about you. He put a stronger charm on you than on himself. But you don't care for the beautiful Khaos. You love the prince of...what was that planet? Asgard. You love the Frost Giant son of Laufey. Haha! How pathetic. You could do better."

"Stop! Don't say that about Loki! He's stronger than you think. Just get out or I'll call Khaos!"

"See? I told you you care about the Frost Giant. Poor Khaos. He'll do anything for you but you wouldn't. Consider my offer. You could know everything about yourself. Who your parents are. Who you are..."

"I'm a Frost Giant too. And I-"

"You're only half Jotun. But what's the rest? You would know if-"

"No! Go away!"

"As you say Rina. But you have no choice. My partner is stronger than Khaos." And with that, she was gone and all that was left of her was a dagger on the floor. I picked it up. What if I did kill him? I don't even know him. I would know everything if I just got rid of Khaos. He must've done something bad anyways to make Night hate him so much.

No! How could I even think of that?! Just today I was telling Loki that he can't kill. Yet I tucked the dagger into the belt and tied a bow around my waist with the shawl Claere gave to me. As I came closer to the palace, I heard a whimper.

"No, master Khaos! Please, it won't happen again, I promise!" said a voice from behind the bushes. I quietly pushed the tall bush aside and stepped through the narrow gap I created. Before me stood a Khaos with a knife in his hand. His back was turned to me. I peaked around him and saw one of his men in leather kneeling on the floor with his hands raised up in defense.

Before I could react, Khaos stabbed the man in the ribs without hesitation. I put my hand over my mouth as I watched the dead body fall. Khaos slowly turned in my direction as he wiped the bloody knife. He gasped when he saw me. "No. Rina, it- it's not what you think! I-"

But I was already running away from him. I had no idea where I was going but I just wanted to get away from the murderer I once loved. I stopped for a second to make sure that he wasn't following me. But when I heard him call my name I kept running. It turned darker and darker as I ran. I finally bumped into something. It was a tall hedge. I stumbled back and bumped into another hedge. They were all around me. I was trapped in a labyrinth. I tried to climb up but fell down instantly. I tried cutting the hedge with Night's knife but it wouldn't even make a hole in the leaves. The knife was for killing people, not leaves.

I heard Khaos approaching so I tucked the knife back. "Don't touch me," I warned. Khaos slowly put his hand back down. I tried to back away but hit a hedge again. Great. I was in a circle.

"Before you say anything, don't. Just don't. Let's go back," I told him. Guess I would have to get used to people killing. I took Khaos's hand, surprising him. He was already hurt enough by me, it was the least I could do. He led us out of the labyrinth without trouble. The cold air was comforting to me but Khaos shivered. He put an arm around me, pulling me closer to him.

"Why did you do that?" I asked. He put his arm back down.

"Sorry," he apologized. I picked his arm up and wrapped it around myself again.

"No, I mean you killed the man. What was the thing he did that was so terrible you had to end his life?"

Neither of us had realized we already walked up to the palace until we almost hit the glass doors. Khaos opened the door for me. When I walked in, all eyes turned to me. I was about to turn back when Khaos placed a hand on my back and pushed me to the middle of the room. Music started playing again as Khaos wrapped his arm around my waist.

"I can't dance! I don't even know this song," I tried to tell him but Khaos ignored me.

Nobody was dancing but us. As soon as he started, I remembered all the steps as if I've done this my whole life. A memory popped into my head. I was dancing with Khaos in the same ballroom but both of us were younger.

"I remember this dance. And I remember _our_ first dance!" I told Khaos. The smile he gave me was heart melting. Some people started whispering to one another.

'Why is Lord Khaos dancing with _her_?'

'Look at her dress! It's so simple.'

'Her hair is a mess!'

"Ignore them," Khaos whispered to me.

"You still didn't give me an answer."

"I am the ruler of all chaos spirits, Rina. This place was too peaceful. And besides, an intruder slipped past him," he said as he placed his hand on the knife I was hiding.

"You know?" I asked.

"Do you really think I wouldn't know if there was an intruder in my house?"

More whispers rose from the crowd. Everyone was judging me and saying I shouldn't even be here. I stepped on his feet once in a while and tears formed in my eyes. Khaos lifted up my chin. He sighed and the next thing I knew, Khaos just kissed me in front of everybody. I heard the crowd gasp. A memory of our first kiss formed in my head. I was on Jotunheim, judging from the background. Some girls were making fun of me for some reason I couldn't remember but Khaos stood up for me. He kissed me in front of my haters just like on our first kiss.

"That was like our first kiss," I told him.

"That shut them up. Let them know that you're better than them. Don't let them get to you, Rina."

There was a sharp pain in my heart. I heard Khaos asking me something but the pain blurred him out. I felt myself slipping from his grasp but he caught me before I fell.

"Are you okay? Rina what's wrong?"

"I...I just want to rest. Can you take me to my room please?"

Khaos led me out of the ballroom. He walked with me down the golden hallway. I felt dizzy again and would have fallen if Khaos hadn't caught me.

"You know what? I'll just carry you," Khaos told me. I was about to protest but he already lifted me up. He opened a door and put me on the bed.

"Thank you Khaos."

Khaos felt my forehead. "You don't have a fever..." Khaos was deep in thought but he finally said, "What did Night tell you?"

I didn't want to tell him. I couldn't. "Nothing."

"Who's the dagger for?"

I hesitated. "WHO IS IT FOR?!" he yelled.

My mouth dropped. I didn't think Khaos would ever yell at me. Before he could apologize, I yelled back, "For you, idiot!"

I stood up but fell down from the dizziness. Khaos helped me up and put me back into bed.

"For me? She wants you to kill me?"

I nodded.

"Why?" he asked.

"She said she is your enemy."

"Enemy? She was our best friend!"

"Really? It looked like she really hated you. Do you think there's a reason why?"

"Maybe there is one...you're not going to stab me, right?"

"I'm not like you, Khaos."

I thought this would offend him but he only smiled. "Do you want anything?"

"Something loose to change into. I can't breathe in this." The dress was actually pretty comfortable but I said it to get rid of him. Instead of leaving, he opened the door and told one of his men to bring me a dress. Then he knelt back down beside the bed.

"What else happened in the garden?" he asked.

"She...she told me that I have no choice but to kill you. Nothing else." I left out the part about Loki.

"She cursed you...I've seen this before. It's a death curse. You die slowly and painfully."

"Thanks for the reassurance," I whimpered. "But she said I have a charm around me. You put it."

"She got around it somehow. I don't know how but someone helped her. But enough of that. I will help you no matter what but you need rest for now." He placed a kiss on my forehead.

Being in a closed room with Khaos made me feel claustrophobic. "Good night Rina."

"No! Wait. Stay with me. Please," my mouth spoke for itself.

Khaos smiled. "I knew you would say that." A loud knock made both of us jump. Khaos stood up to open the door.

"Do you want to break the door?! What did you bring, you moron?! Don't you know what a night gown is? Get it right or else!" Khaos threatened the man.

"You won't kill him, right?" I asked as soon as the door closed.

"I was but I won't if you request. I'm kidding. Even if I'm the spirit of chaos, doesn't mean I'm a killer. I won't lie, I will kill a man from time to time but usually I just make their lives insanely miserable."

I frowned and turned to the wall. Part of me wished he left but I also wanted him to be close to me. "Where's Loki?" I asked.

"Claere is taking care of him. He was bit by a parasite. Nothing Claere can't handle though."

I sighed. "Ever since I helped him, we can't stop getting in trouble."

"If I may, why were you with the prince anyways? Not that it's bad. If you hadn't come with him, I wouldn't have been reunited with you, but how did you get to Kamia in the first place?"

"Well...it's a long story but-"

"You're right. I shouldn't distract you. It's just that you were gone for so long and then you just...appeared. I couldn't believe it was you walking in the Khaos forest with Loki."

I stifled a laugh but smiled. "The Khaos forest?"

Khaos gave me a playful glare. "Forgive me for yelling at you. I was just tired and worried."

"Why do you have to be so...polite?! It's driving me crazy. I mean, compared to Loki you're...I don't know. You're very nice to me."

"That surprises you? How else should a lady and especially you be treated? But I guess Loki's parents didn't teach him manners well."

"Don't say that! You're not exactly perfect either, ok?"

"Sorry. Sorry. I didn't mean to-"

Dizziness overcame me. I laid back all the way and put a hand over my forehead. Khaos doubled and tripled again and again. I reached out to him but felt air instead. One of the five Khaos' placed a hand on my shoulder and said something. But I fell asleep.

* * *

Khaos was beside the bed when I woke up. He was sleeping on the floor with his head on the edge of the bed. The window was open wide and the cold air felt so good. Strangely Khaos didn't shiver. I wanted to tell him that he could leave if he wanted but when I tried to wake him, he wouldn't even stir.

Nausea overcame me and I vomited on the floor. The metallic taste in my mouth told me it was blood. I tried to wake Khaos again when another wave of nausea hit me. More blood came out. I heard the door open.

"Rina!" I heard Khaos call. I was able to move my head just enough to see the form of sleeping Khaos flicker and disappear and the real Khaos run over to my side.

When the blood stopped, I rolled back on the bed, wiping the blood away from my mouth.

"Where were you?" I croaked.

"I...I was busy. Are you alright?"

"Why would you care? You told me I was dying. I asked you to stay just one night with me and you couldn't do that. Here I am coughing up blood and you came in last minute. I trusted you to stay with me! I was scared and I thought that you would protect me and help me when I needed help but you just left! You say you love me but you left me all alone in the darkness! How could you tell me I would die violently and leave? How could you do that to me, Khaos? Just when I thought...nevermind. Just go to whatever was more important than the person you love dying."

He stared at me with so much hurt in his eyes that I wanted to take everything back. But I hid my guilt deep down and glared at him. I had to lay back down because of the dizziness. I felt such an intense pain everywhere that I cried out. Khaos was holding my hand and telling me it would be okay. When the pain and dizziness subsided, I realized Khaos was holding me close to him. I felt his breath on my neck and it was so comforting.

The door opened. "Oh, is this bad timing? I can come back later," I recognized the voice of Claere.

"No. Khaos was just leaving. What was it, Claere?" I said as I pulled away from Khaos. Claere frowned.

"You look a little pale, Rina. Are you okay?" Claere asked.

"Actually, I'm-"

"Rina's fine," Khaos cut in.

"Shut up. I want to hear what Rina has to say."

"I..." Khaos gave me a stern look. "I'm fine."

"Well okay then. Loki is waking up. I just thought that it would be better if the first person he saw was you," Claere told me.

"He's waking up? I'm coming," I said as I got out of bed. Thank god I didn't fall down in front of Claere. Khaos didn't want Claere to know that I was sick for some reason. I had to lean against the wall a few times but other than that, I was doing good. Khaos followed behind but with reluctance. He walked slowly and stopped to check something every second.

I couldn't help but run up to Loki as soon as I saw him. His eyes were closed but he was waking up. I brushed some of his hair away from his face and waited for him to wake up. Finally, his eyelids fluttered open and I was staring into his emerald eyes.

"Rina…? Where am I? What happened?"

'You're in the palace of the chaos spirit. But that doesn't matter. How are you feeling? You were bit by a-"

"The chaos spirit? Who is that? He sounds familiar…"

"Uh...well, I can get him if you want but-"

"Get him."

"Yes, but I thought-"

"Get him."

I glared at Loki. "I wanted to talk to you first. I guess-"

I felt the blood come again. I fell down on my knees and vomited again. The pain hit me again in my ribs. I could hear Loki call my name but it sounded like he was calling me through a long tunnel. Once I felt better, I put my head on the bed and caught my breath. Loki peered over me and saw the blood. I felt Loki's hand stroking my back.

"I will be back. I need to talk to someone first," I told Loki. Khaos was standing right outside the door.

"Khaos. It happened again. I don't want this to continue as I slowly wait to die! You need to help me. Please."

"There is only one way."

"Tell me! I'll do anything. I don't care what it is but I'll agree to it!"

Khaos chuckled. "The only way is for me to go to her."

I gasped. "No! You can't do that. She'll kill you, Khaos! Don't go! Please."

"You said you'll agree to anything. And besides, you don't have a choice."

"No! I didn't mean that! Don't go. Don't go Khaos! You can't leave me!" I sobbed as I embraced him. "I won't let you go even if I have to hold you like this forever!"

"As much as I would love that, I can't let you die," and with that, I felt nothing but air. I stood straight and saw Khaos to my left.

I stared at him. "What?" he asked.

"How...how do you know how to do that?"

"You mean teleport?"

"Yes. And the hologram of yourself...Loki could do all those things too. But the only person who taught Loki was his mother. Who taught you?"

"I…" There was a long pause as Khaos tried to remember who taught him magic. "I don't know! I can't remember! How could I not remember?!"

"Welcome to my world," I mumbled. "Loki wants to see you."

"Loki...I've heard that name before."

"What do you mean? He's in the med room right now! You said his name a million times yourself!"

"I have? Who is he?"

"What? Khaos, _Loki!_ You know who that is! The Jotun prince of Asgard!"

"A Jotun...there is no Jotun prince of Asgard!"

"Yes there is! Loki! He's in that room right now!" I said as I pointed to the door.

"Rina, what are you talking about?"

Claere came into the hallway. She gave a little yelp. "Who are you? What are you doing in my brother's house?" she asked Khaos.

"Claere! This _is_ your brother! It's Khaos! What is wrong with you two?" I told her.

"He's not my brother, Rina! My brother...my brother is...I can't remember my brother!"

I thought for a moment. What was going on? Khaos and Claere didn't remember things just like I don't remember my past.

"Someone is messing with us! The same person who took my memory away is playing with your memories!" I told them.

"Who would do that?" Claere asked. I felt dizzy again. I managed to mumble a 'no' before I fell. Khaos caught me but I remembered another detail from my past. There was a Frost Giant man standing with a pale yet beautiful woman. She had red hair and a sprinkle of freckles on her nose just like me. These were my parents! The memory faded away and I forgot what I saw.

"Ok! We need to just ignore this. We'll find who it is soon enough," Khaos said.

"Yeah and what if he takes away all our memories?" Claere asked.

"Then we're in trouble. But it hasn't got to that yet so we need to relax. Panic never got anyone anywhere."

"Khaos is right. Let's go talk to Loki," I said.

Khaos jerked back and fell. "Oh."

"What?" me and Claere asked at the same time.

"I know him. I _knew _him. Whenever I visited you on Jotunheim, Loki would teach me magic. He was my friend but he never got along with you," Khaos said.

"Whoever is doing this is getting on my nerves," I said.

* * *

Loki was staring out the narrow window when we came in. He turned when he heard the door open and his face was pure shock.

"You…" he said to Khaos.

"Yeah. Me."

Loki turned to Claere. "Are you the one he loves?" Loki asked her.

"Eww no! He's my brother...apparently."

"I think you must be talking about Rina," Khaos said. I felt my cheeks turn red.

"You love RIna?" Loki's voice was a combination of shock, disappointment, anger, and fear. When Khaos nodded, Loki said, "Oh that explains so much. I am so sorry Rina."

"For what?" I asked. But as soon as I did, the pain returned. I leaned against the wall that was actually Khaos.

"For that," I heard Loki say.


End file.
